"I asked nicely, but you refused to give it to me. Oh, the ice stopped spreading?"

Chang Long noticed that the ice had stopped expanding just as it reached the Nemean Lion's neck.

"You! How dare you. If I ever break free from this annoying prison, I will kill you in the most miserable way possible!"

The Nemean Lion threatened with venomous intent, making Chang Long realize that any hope of making it her pet was now gone. Initially, she had thought of inviting it to join her kindly.

"You're quite the talker,"

Chang Long muttered, narrowing her eyes with determination. She flew over to pluck the tuft of golden hair from the Nemean Lion's head, struggling to do so as it kept moving its head to try and snap at her.

"You human! Insolent! How dare you treat a mighty lion like me this way. Roarrrr!"

The Nemean Lion roared in protest but soon fell silent as Chang Long, tired of its incessant noise, precisely drove the Sovereign Sword through the ice that encased its body and into its heart.

"Spirit Net!"

Chang Long activated the skill, not wanting to waste the Nemean Lion's valuable abilities. The Spirit Net appeared just in time to capture the lion's soul before it could merge with Kitsune.

"Heh heh, a big-mouthed lion like you needs to be taught a lesson,"

Chang Long chuckled with satisfaction. She used a demon puppet to touch the Nemean Lion's soul trapped in the Spirit Net since she could not use it for Spirit Possession even if she used a spirit tablet to bind it.

"Player Chang Long has obtained the soul of the Nemean Lion, level 99. Please name your new soul. If you do not choose a name, the system will use the original name of the soul."

The system announced the moment the Nemean Lion's soul went into the demon puppet.

"Hehehe, Fluffy Head-chan,"

Chang Long could not help but laugh as she named her new spirit.

"Player Chang Long, do you want to name your spirit 'Hehehe, Fluffy Head-chan'? Confirm?"

"Huh. No, no, don't confirm that!"

Chang Long quickly responded, realizing that the system had included her laugh in the name.

"Please name your soul. If you do not choose a name, the system will use the original name of the soul."

The system prompted Chang Long once again when she did not confirm the first name she entered.

"Fluffy Head-chan,"

Chang Long replied, this time not daring to laugh.

"Do you want to name your spirit 'Fluffy Head-chan'? Confirm?"

"Confirm."

As soon as Chang Long confirmed, the demon puppet began to move as if it were alive. The round, wooden doll gradually transformed, its body now covered in soft, light brown fur, with cute round ears appearing on its head. A dark brown mane with a golden tuft in the center of its' head also appeared. The doll was no bigger than a lion cub, and its large, round eyes stared at Chang Long with a somewhat displeased expression. It shook its head vigorously and jumped away from Chang Long's hand, sitting on the ground in a sulk because it was not happy with the new name she had given it.

"Come on, Fluffy Head-chan, how long are you going to sulk?"

Chang Long called out to her first demon puppet, which had started walking ahead without waiting for her at all. Even though she tried to hold back her laughter, she could not help but chuckle while talking to Fluffy Head-chan, which only made it even more upset with her.

'Hmph, hmph! Saying I'm sulking, huh? I'm not sulking; I'm angry. My old name was so cool, and now I'm stuck with 'Fluffy Head-chan'? Who could accept that!'

Fluffy Head-chan, formerly the mighty Nemean Lion, grumbled internally, feeling annoyed.

"Hey, Fluffy Head-chan, don't you want some offerings?"

Chang Long asked as she followed Fluffy Head-chan, who continued to lead the way, accompanied by her two pets and three spirits keeping watch. Kimhant was also laughing the entire time, finding the name Fluffy Head-chan amusing.

"It sounds kind of cute, but it's also hilarious!"

Kimhant commented, unable to contain his laughter.

"Roarr. Shut up, human!"

Fluffy Head-chan suddenly pounced on Kimhant with such speed and force that it knocked him flat on his back, leaving his eyes wide open in shock.

"Hey, Kimhant, don't underestimate Fluffy Head-chan just because it's small. It's still level 99, so you better not provoke it,"

Chang Long warned. Although Fluffy Head-chan was in its normal form and not in its full-sized battle mode, its abilities had not diminished along with its size.

"Ouch, that hurt,"

Kimhant grumbled as he pushed himself up, while Fluffy Head-chan quickly resumed leading the way, still clearly irritated.

"Fluffy Head-chan, come on, stop sulking already. I'm tired of trying to make it up to you,"

Chang Long complained. She had been following Fluffy Head-chan for hours, and it was nearly dawn.

"Then stop trying to make it up to me!!"

Fluffy Head-chan shouted back without turning to look at Chang Long and continued walking without stopping.

"Fine, then I'll just seal you away. But let me warn you, if I seal you, you'll be stuck in the doll until I summon you again."

Chang Long's threat made Fluffy Head-chan pause. It turned to look at her with a slightly anxious expression. As the mighty lion of the savanna, it valued its freedom above all else and hated the idea of being confined in a small space, (thinking it would) never see the light of day again.

"Uh... Could you not do that?"

Fluffy Head-chan's voice softened noticeably.

"Sure, as long as you stop sulking and start calling me master. Be a good boy, listen to me, and I won't seal you away. I'll let you run free, explore, venture into the wide world with me!"

Chang Long responded, casually petting its head a few times.

"Ventures... into the wide world?"

Fluffy Head-chan seemed genuinely interested. It had never known what the wide world was like, as it had only ever lived in the savanna and believed the vast grasslands were its entire world.

"Yeah, interested? I promise I'll take good care of you,"

Chang Long assured it with a carefree smile. Just then, the first light of dawn appeared on the horizon. Fluffy Head-chan looked at Chang Long and thought about how she was different from any human it had ever met. There was something special about her that made it want to follow her, even if it did not fully realize it. As it pondered, its mouth moved to accept her offer.

"Alright."

After coming to an agreement, Chang Long's group stopped to set up camp and rest. As usual, it was Kimhant's tent, and the owner was once again kicked out to sleep outside with Chang Long's pets. They lounged comfortably under the open sky. When they all woke up later, they were shocked out of their wits. The spot where they had pitched their tent was in the middle of a field occupied by a massive herd of Bunabeest Wild Buffalo. Thousands of them were grazing without paying any attention to Chang Long's group, who had been sleeping in the middle of their grazing land.

"What the heck? Devi-chan, why didn't you wake us up?"

Chang Long looked around in astonishment. If those buffalo had decided to stampede through their tent while they were sleeping, it would have been a gruesome death for sure.

"They weren't dangerous, so I didn't see the need,"

Devi-chan shrugged.

"Good thing they're not the type to attack on sight. Otherwise, we'd be trampled to a pulp!"

Kimhant said, equally unnerved.

"But it looks like they're being extra cautious,"

Kitsune observed, noting that the area around their tent, within a radius of about two meters, was entirely clear of any Bunabeest buffalo.

"That's good, Kitsune. I really don't want the honor of being trampled to death by a herd of wild buffalo."

Chang Long shuddered slightly as she looked around for Fluffy Head-chan, who she was sure she had not sealed back into the doll. However, she could not see him anywhere in the group, so she asked where he was.

"If you mean the little lion, he's trying to hunt one of those wild buffalo over there,"

Hisa-chan appeared and said with a chuckle.

"Why is that funny, Hisa-chan?"

Hulu asked with a yawn, not understanding what was so amusing.

"Go see for yourself. Hehehe,"

Hisa-chan replied mischievously, pointing towards a group of Bunabeest buffalo that gathered around, seemingly watching something. Curiosity piqued, everyone decided to go take a look. As soon as the Bunabeest felt the chilling aura from Chang Long and her spirits, they quickly made way, allowing them to approach.

What they saw was quite a comical sight: Fluffy Head-chan was biting down tightly on the leg of a Bunabeest calf, but he was not able to cause any harm. After all, his current form was just a simple wooden doll. His claws and fangs would only be effective in battle mode or when its owner was using Puppet Manipulation skill, which was a specialty of the Beast User class. The calf showed no fear of Fluffy Head-chan; instead, it was repeatedly butting Fluffy Head-chan on the head with its front leg out of sheer annoyance.

"What are you doing, Fluffy Head-chan?"

Chang Long asked, a bit taken aback, while the others tried hard to stifle their laughter, worried that if they laughed out loud, it might startle the entire herd of Bunabeest.

"I'm hunting, duh,"

Fluffy Head-chan replied, still gripping the calf's leg tightly.

"You can't hunt. Enough already, we need to get going to find the Albino Rhino,"

Chang Long said, shaking her head as she tried to hold back her laughter.

"No! I have to catch this one."

Fluffy Head-chan responded stubbornly, feeling embarrassed that the former mighty lion could not even scare a Bunabeest calf. To make matters worse, he was now smaller than the calf itself. If the calf decided to fight back for real, Fluffy Head-chan would likely end up running for his life.

"You can't catch it until I give you permission,"

Chang Long raised her voice slightly.

"Then give me permission!"

Fluffy Head-chan demanded, still refusing to give up even after being repeatedly butted on the head.

"No!"

Chang Long replied firmly. Enraged, Fluffy Head-chan let go of the calf and turned to confront Chang Long, shouting,

"Why not!"

"I don't want to get trampled to death by a stampede of panicked Bunabeest buffalo, that's why,"

Chang Long replied, noting that they were still surrounded by the entire herd.

"I don't care!"

Fluffy Head-chan shouted defiantly. Fueled by anger, he immediately lunged at the Bunabeest calf that had dared to repeatedly butt his head without any fear. Although he could not use his claws or fangs effectively, the sheer strength of a level 99 lion king still remained.

Thud

Crack!

The sound of impact was not very loud, but the cracking of bones made everyone freeze in shock. The calf that Fluffy Head-chan had attacked collapsed to the ground, its neck broken and instantly dead.

"Player Chang Long has slain a level 2 Bunabeest calf. Receiving 100 experience points,"

announced the system. However, this notification brought Chang Long no joy. After all, there was nothing to celebrate about killing a helpless level 2 calf, especially for a level 66 player like her. It felt more like bullying a defenseless creature. But Fluffy Head-chan seemed quite pleased with his accomplishment, oblivious to the disaster about to unfold.

"Bunabeest Buffalo Beast, level 45, is preparing to attack!"

The system's notifications blared repeatedly, almost causing Chang Long and Kimhant to faint. The nearly thousand Bunabeest in the area roared in fury, their eyes turning red with rage.

"You idiot! You dumb lion! I told you not to do it. Now look—how are you going to get out of this mess!"

Chang Long yelled at Fluffy Head-chan, scolding him so harshly that it left him feeling utterly defeated. As she looked around, she saw the Bunabeest closing in, their eyes turning crimson one by one, forming an impenetrable circle around them.

"D-dumb lion..."

Fluffy Head-chan mumbled to himself, as if his mind had drifted far away.

"Oh, this is insane. Everyone, use everything you've got!"

As soon as Chang Long finished speaking, she quickly scooped up Fluffy Head-chan and regrouped with the others. She called Devi-chan to possess her body, used the Spirit Incarnation skill on Hisa-chan, and summoned the Dark Wraiths, ready to fight their way through the Bunabeest stampede.

"Dark Wraiths, line up and advance forward!"

she commanded. The three wraiths obediently followed her orders. Chang Long was now witnessing the terrifying power of her Dark Wraiths: they were untouchable. If anything came into contact with their outstretched hands from beneath their cloaks, it would instantly turn to ash. Striking them elsewhere was like hitting thin air—completely ineffective. However, the wraiths seemed to avoid getting too close to Kitsune and Hulu, who were Sacred Beasts with strong affinities for fire and light.

Any Bunabeest that touched the wraiths' deadly hands screamed in agony as their bodies slowly disintegrated into ash. Instead of charging in as they had intended, the Bunabeest fled in sheer terror.

Their panicked cries echoed across the plains, and soon, the herd scattered and fled for their lives, leaving the area nearly devoid of Bunabeest. Even players on the outskirts, who had been carefully luring Bunabeest away from the main herd for kill, were caught up in the chaos and fled.

"They're all gone..." Chang Long muttered in confusion. She had been fully prepared for battle.

"Wahhh, my tenttttt. It's completely destroyed!"

Kimhant wailed, looking at what remained of his tent, now reduced to tiny, unrecognizable scraps just two meters away.

"Well, at least we made it out safely,"

Chang Long said, trying to console him. She released Devi-chan from possession and canceled the Dark Wraiths skill.

"Even so... what do we do now, master?"

Kimhant asked weakly, still mourning the loss of his second tent.

"We're going to find the Albino Rhino. It's horn's the last thing I need,"

Chang Long replied, leading the way because she did not want to stay in this grassland any longer.

"Aren't we going to eat breakfast first, master?"

Hulu asked, rubbing his stomach to indicate his hunger.

"Yeah, yeah, but we're eating outside of this field!"

Chang Long said, giving Hulu a firm pat on the back, making his eyes water. She resumed leading the group, while Kitsune laughed and patted Hulu on the head to comfort him before following Chang Long.

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